Rene Descartes 1596-1650 Rene Descartes 1596-1650

2 ndndnd nd Meditation : : He discards traditional Scholastic –Aristotelian concept of what it it means to be Human.The Second Meditation continues with Descartes asking, “Whatam I?” After discarding the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelianconcept of a human being as a rational animal due to the inherentdifficulties of defining “rational” and “animal,” he finally concludesthat he is a thinking thing, a mind: “A thing that doubts,understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is unwilling, and alsoimagines and has sense perceptions” (AT VII 28: CSM II 19).63